CREAMY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup lite coconut milk, plus additional to garnish
• 1 tbs curry powder
• salt/pepper to taste
• grated fresh nutmeg (optional)
• fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

• Cut squash in half long ways and scoop out seeds (save seeds to roast later!).

• Place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

• Roast at 35o degrees for about an hour (until soft to the touch).

• Remove from oven and allow to cool.

• Meanwhile, sauté onion in coconut oil in a large pot until translucent.

• Add garlic and continue to sauté for a couple minutes more.

• Scoop out flesh of squash and add to a blender with sautéed onions and garlic, vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry, and salt/pepper. Blend until smooth. You may have to work in batches.

• Pour all of soup into the large pot and allow to simmer. Swirl in additional coconut milk to individual serving bowls to garnish. Add nutmeg and cilantro.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Ingredients:
• 1 cup natural salsa, temperature of your choosing (I use a Medium salsa.)
• 1 can reduced sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (Chicken broth works as well also.)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 cup or can of corn
• 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and diced (optional)

Optional Toppings
• Green onions, chopped
• Taco cheese
• Cherry tomatoes, chopped
• Avocado, sliced and chopped

Directions:
1) Cook corn until just softened.
2) Put beans in a food processor and process until just smooth.
3) Combine everything (minus the toppings) in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
4) Remove from heat. Top, serve and eat!

SWEET POTATO BISQUE

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp sriracha (optional, but recommended)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• dash freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork, then transfer to a large dish. Roast for about 1 hour until tender.** Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove skin. Blend roasted and peeled sweet potatoes with an immersion blender (or in a regular blender) until smooth. 
2. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, whisk together  cornstarch and almond milk until combined. Add sweet potatoes, maple syrup, sriracha and spices whisking constantly until well combined. Continue to cook on medium heat until soup is hot throughout. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 1 week.

**Notes: If you’re short on time, you can bake your potatoes in the microwave in about 8-10 minutes. I’ve done this, and it’s not quite as flavorful as roasting, but it’s still great and works in a pinch.

***To make in the crock pot, throw in all your ingredients, whisk together, and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Ingredients:

•  1 pound of ground turkey
•  6 cups organic chicken stock (homemade or store-bought)
•  2 cloves garlic, crushed
•  1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (or sub grass-fed butter)
•  2 cups of  kale or spinach, chopped
•  3 carrots, chopped
•  1 yellow onion, chopped
•  2 celery stalks, chopped
•  1 egg 
•  1 small bunch fresh basil, chopped
•  1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
•  Himalayan sea salt, to taste
•  Freshly ground pepper, to taste
•  Optional: 1 tbsp fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Cook ground turkey and set to the side. 
• chop veggies

• In a pan heat oil and garlic, add onion, celery, and carrots; let cook 5 minutes or until translucent
• Add kale or spinach and cook until wilts
• Add broth, spices, and ground turkey, bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer
• Beat egg in bowl, add egg slowly to soup, stir for 2 minutes

• Serve hot sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP

Ingredients

• 4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts (~20oz)
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 small red pepper, chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 quarts low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 (14.5 oz ) can fire-roasted tomatoes, crushed
• 1 C kidney beans
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the chicken breasts on a pan.  Lightly rub with olive oil.  Bake 25-30 mins, or until 170 degrees.  When the chicken is cool enough to handle shred the meat.  Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pot.  Add onion, jalapeno, celery, carrot, and red peppers and cook over medium heat for ~10 minutes, or until onions begin to brown.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

4. Add stock, tomatoes, beans, spices, and cilantro.  Allow soup to come to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 25 mins.  Add the shredded chicken and adjust seasoning to taste.  

5. Serve soup with your choice of garnishes.  I used avocado, Greek yogurt, and fresh cilantro.

BUFFET STYLE MEAL PREP

There are going to be sometimes when you are short on time which may take away from your Sunday meal prep session. Rather than skip it altogether use this method to modify your routine to make it much faster. Instead of planning all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the week, IN this example we prepared simple foods that could be mixed and matched to create a variety of meals. 

Buffet-style menu includes: baked salmon filets and chicken breasts, soft-boiled eggs, steamed broccolini, sautéed mushrooms with broccoli, baked sweet potatoes, and an Asian vegetable stir-fry that came pre-chopped. We also cooked a large batch of oatmeal, and stocked the fridge with salad fixings, pre-cooked lentils, apples, bananas, hummus, almonds, and balsamic vinaigrette.

This simplified menu made shopping faster, and it took less than two hours to cook everything for the week! Each day, use the colored Portion Fix containers to build healthy, delicious meals. Scroll below for a meal example and the grocery list for this week. 

Sample Meal From Buffet Prep

Dinner: chicken, stir-fried Asian vegetables, and baked sweet potato. It counts as 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 teaspoon.

Grocery List

Proteins:
1 lb. salmon
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 dozen eggs
Shakeology

Vegetables:
1 container broccolini
2 containers mushrooms
1 bag broccoli florets
4 bell peppers in different colors
1 package fresh Asian vegetable stir-fry mix
1 bag baby spinach
2 bags lettuce
1 box cherry tomatoes
1 carton pomegranate seeds
1 large cucumber
2 large sweet potatoes

Fruits:
4 apples
1 bunch small bananas (about 8)
3 cartons mixed berries
Dry Goods:
old-fashioned rolled oats
almonds
olive oil

Prepared Foods:
prepared hummus
2 packages cooked lentils
balsamic vinaigrette dressing